User blog:Capi3101/WCRPG Update for September 8, 2014
Greetings, Wingnuts and Citizens! Time for the Weekly WCRPG Update. I have two weeks to cover this week. As I mentioned at update time last week, I simply didn't get around to writing an update last weekend; in fact that whole last week of August had been fairly chaotic. There wasn't a day that week wherein I didn't lose at least one break during the course of the day (and often lost two) owing to various factors, so my working time got crunched pretty badly. I worked on the history of the Knav'qith character on August 25th and made some progress on the final composition of that character's history. Work on Phalanx and Psychopath took the better part of the remainder of that week, with both character profiles completed on Thursday August 28th. I finished Thursday up by heading back to work on the Knav'qith character. I rounded out that week with work on the Ku'a K'le, Mo and Irgu characters, though that was mainly rearranging notes on their respective histories. I did skip work this past Monday for the Labor Day holiday, but went straight to work on Tuesday by building the stats for Rajan Ragaputhy's F/A-43 Intruder and building a Saga character profile for Little John. My wife gave me some ideas for two more Elegy characters which I incorporated into my notes on Wednesday and after working on histories for three other characters, I finished out thT day by finally finishing the history composition of the Thrakyaga character. I spent Thursday composing the history of another character, Qith'raklerx, and was able to finish her up before that day was out. I spent the rest of Thursday working on the long-delayed description of the Thieves Guild, which I still didn't finish but on which I made some good progess. I finished out this week working on building a parallel history for the lak B'yaga family (Ku'a K'le, Mo and their son Qith'rakoth) and I made progress composing the histories of two of those characters. At this point, of the sixteen listed members of the Demon's Eye Pack, three character histories are 100% finished with at least some progress on all but three of the rest (and one, a generic character, needing no history writeup at all). No stats have been built, so I can't call any of them 100% finished yet though the ones with finished histories would probably be fairly easy to knock out at this point. I still could stand to pick up the pace, but things remain prety hectic in RL at the moment and I don't anticipate finding more work time in the foreseeable future. The Plan for this week is more of the same. If I can get Ragan's Stalker EW fighter done this week, I should finally be able to zip up the stats of the Arcadia-class for good, so I anticipate that happening before the week is out. Honeybear is next on the list of Saga characters and then it'll be back to work on Elegy characters. At this point with as long as the Elegy characters are taking, I'm thinking about heading on into the story as soon as they're zipped up; while there undoubtedly will need to be more characters in the campaign, I'll probably just leave them as names for now and work on stat sets later. Hopefully any more characters will be minor and I can forego histories - that's really where things have gotten gummed up good. That's it for this week; next update between between 11-14Z on September 15th. And without further ado, here are the three Saga profiles I owe y'all this morning... Phalanx Justin Sanger, who has from birth gone by his middle name Ian, is a native of the agricultural community of Granero on the surface of Masa III, a colonial from a family of Irish descent. He spent most of his formative years with family living on the main world of the Yeager system, with much of the civilian population of Masa evacuated in 2648 during a Kilrathi advance. He was a gifted, straight-A student throughout his early academic career, easily earning the spot in the 2660 plebe class of the Space Force Academy reserved for residents of Argent Sector. He majored in Aerospace Engineering and graduated in 2664 near top of his Class; unlike most of his contemporaries and future shipmates, Ian did not participate in any athletic activities throughout his academic career. After securing a billet for flight duty, Ian was allowed a two-year extension from active service to complete a master's degree with a focus on Starship Engineering and attended flight training immediately afterwards. His callsign was bestowed upon him by a fellow flight school student who, while strung out on a bad hit of Aphrodyte, attempted to insult Sanger by calling him a "phalanx" (from the context of the conversation, he had obviously meant to call Sanger a "phallus" - and to this day Phalanx is relieved his colleague was too high to maintain a firm grasp of the English language in that moment). Due to Phalanx's academic accomplishments and his performance in flight school, he was given his first choice of duty station and ultimately the young pilot selected TCS Washington. Then-Second Lieutenant Sanger reported aboard in 2666 and was assigned to the Ralph’s Raiders Squadron. For the next two years he saw combat in campaigns in the Epsilon and Vega Sectors (including a campaign to liberate his native world of Masa), specializing in the F-44/G Rapier-II. He would be promoted to the rank of First Lieutenant while still serving aboard Washington and remained attached to the carrier until she was mothballed during the False Armistice. Ian was on leave visiting relatives in Sol when the Armistice was revealed as a sham. He quickly mustered up to do his part, shipped out aboard TCS Concordia and fought in the Battle of Earth under the leadership of Maverick Blair himself. He survived the Battle and received a field promotion to the rank of Captain afterwards. Phalanx wanted to deploy to the front lines immediately in the wake of the battle, but Washington had been in an advanced stage of her decommissioning when the Armistice ended and it would have been several months before she would be able to get back into action. In light of this fact, he approached his superiors about a new assignment and was subsequently transferred to the newly-refitted TCS Hermes in Vega Sector, where he served through to the end of the War. He got out of the military after sustaining injuries during the Battle of Hyperion and ultimately found a job as an engineer working for Douglas Aerospace, where he became a key engineer in the development of the F-104 Bearcat, F-108 Panther and F-109 Vampire. He continues to take a leading role in the development of new, top-of-the line fightercraft for the Confederation. To this day, only a few people know of his exploits as "the Hermes Gigolo", a prank he pulled during his stint aboard Hermes that caused much anxiety with the ship's administration, especially with her puritanical XO at the time. Neither flashy nor aggressive, Phalanx’s flying style is practical and to the point. His fighting abilities are well-rounded across the board, though not particularly exceptional in one area. This even-handed approach has led to him becoming a veteran flyer with a calm, relaxed, and sometimes reserved demeanor that sometimes is misinterpreted as aloofness or non-aggressiveness. Phalanx prides himself in being pragmatic: he can see the big picture of a developing situation. Understanding a scenario, a wingman, or an enemy as objectively as possible is usually his goal. He's found it to be a most effective way to stay alive. Psychopath Liu Dan-zu (known as Dan Liu by the TCSF and as "Danny" by his very few close colleagues) was born in 2645 in the city of Honghu, located in the Shashi District of China's Hubei Province. He spent as much of his formative years as he could along the banks of the adjacent Yangtze River and Hong Lake, where he developed a life-long affinity for swimming. He performed very well during his nine-years of compulsory education, coming in the top five of his class each year. He continued to perform well into his high school years academically and earned varsity letters in wrestling, track-and-field and swimming; he pretty much had his choice of venues for higher education, and ultimately he chose to attend the Terran Confederation Space Force Academy. During his sophomore year, he decided to pursue an eventual career as a fighter pilot. He graduated in 2667 near the top of his class with majors in both Aerospace Engineering and Mechanical Engineering and later attended flight school. He was selected to receive advanced "must-pump" training aboard the training carrier TCS Pensacola in the wake of the Kilrathi's Deneb Offensive and later shipped out aboard TCS Moskva for his first tour of duty, where he specialized in the F-57 Sabre. Liu saw some of the bloodiest combat of the war in the years between the Enigma Sector Campaign and the False Armistice; he earned his callsign during these years after he developed a penchant for taking risks and surviving against the odds. He was still assigned to Moskva during the Battle of Sirius, in which the ship was destroyed after a massive Kilrathi bombardment. Liu, the only surviving member of his squadron, was transferred to the escort carrier TCS Firekka and flew off of her during the Battle of Earth with the remainder of her fighter wing. He survived the subsequent battle despite having his fighter shot out from under him and for his actions he was promoted to the rank of First Lieutenant at the battle's end. When her refit was completed, Liu transferred to TCS Hermes and served out the remainder of the war there, eventually being transferred to the carrier's elite Gallahad fighter squadron flying the F-103 Excalibur Space Superiority Fighter. The Black Lance attempted to recruit him after the war ended, but Psychopath saw the group for what they were and refused. Facing the potential for consequential liquidation as an "accident", he went AWOL from Confed and, not knowing who to trust, he began waging his own private war against the Black Lance. He would later be reinstated after the Black Lance Affair and would spend the rest of his career in various Special Operations and infiltration units. Disturbingly deadpan under pressure, Psychopath is a good stick and a better marksman. He does not care about promotion, retirement, nor ultimate victory, all of which he does not think he will live long enough to see. While claiming not to be suicidal, Psychopath does have a sort of death wish: he has repeatedly taken near-fatal risks and unnecessary damage. It has not earned him any friends among his maintenance crew. Ironically, his ability to survive when others have not has only boosted his peers’ and superiors’ admiration of his combat skills. Self-reliant to a fault, he doesn't enjoy the company of others and only trusts few friends. Among them is Avatarr, who also shares the same borderline insubordinate attitude. But unlike the smooth and witty Avatarr, Psychopath is completely devoid of any bedside manner; he is caustic, tactless and expresses his scorn for others in a form of mocking sarcasm. Dr. Koteks, chief psychologist aboard Hermes, has said that this is a coping mechanism to deal with the trauma he experienced at Sirius. Little John John Gerhardt was a military brat, the fourth child of TCMC Colonel (Ret.) James Gerhardt and TCSF Colonel (Ret.) Elizabeth "Yokel" Gerhardt (nee Brammell) and a member of an American military family with a history of military service dating back to the American Civil War. Both of his parents were survivors of the McAuliffe Ambush, with his mother serving aboard TCS Soryu and later TCS Ark Royal during the fighting and with his father a member of the Fifth Marine Commando Regiment. Both were nearly killed at McAullife and with little Jack less than two months old at the time, they collectively made the hard decision to retire from active military duty to focus on raising their family. The members of the Gerhardt clan settled down near Minot SFB in North Dakota and along with his brothers and sisters was taught the importance of duty, honor, discipline, hard-flying, hard-fighting and not becoming a "goddamn miserable Navy puke" (a fact that nearly got Gerhardt's older sister disowned when she ultimately opted for a career in the Confederation Navy). The moment he turned eighteen, Jack was (like his older siblings) booted out of the Gerhardt house, with his mother dropping him off right in front of the local Armed Forces recruitment office. Jack chose to enlist in the TCMC and served a distinguished two-year tour with them as an enlistee, serving in several actions during the latter part of the Vega Sector Campaign and obtaining the rank of Lance Corporal before his enlistment period expired. He received his callsign during basic; at nearly two meters in height, he was by far the tallest member of his platoon and his drill sergeant had a penchant for irony. After experiencing life as an enlistee, he decided to go ahead and make the push to become officer material. He applied to the Marine branch of the Confederation Naval Academy, to which he was accepted based on his previous military service. He graduated in the spring of '58 and afterwards attended flight school, specializing in the F-36 Hornet. Upon completing flight school, he was assigned aboard TCS Kipling (CV-8), where he once again distinguished himself as a fighter pilot. After five years aboard Kipling, Gerhardt was promoted to Captain, received transitional training to the F-54 Epee and was transferred to TCS Coral Sea. He continued to distinguish himself aboard Coral Sea, seeing action in the Enigma Sector Campaign and in support of operations defending Olympus Station at Ghorah Khar. In late 2667, Gerhardt was forced to eject and was nearly killed in the process; then-Major Gerhardt vowed never to strap on an Epee again. He requested transition to a new fighter platform and was approved for transitional training to the P-64/D Super Ferret, transferring to TCS Ark Royal with an assignment as XO of the 544th "Hell's Archers" Squadron. He was still serving aboard Ark Royal when the False Armistice went into effect. Like most service-members, he went into the inactive reserve and was reactivated when the existence of the Kilrathi Hakaga supercarriers was revealed. He reported for duty aboard Ark Royal just as she prepared to sail without her jump engines and only 50% rated reactor power. During the Battle of Earth, the squadron CO was killed in action, requiring Little John to take battlefield command of the squadron. Even though Ark Royal was destroyed during the fighting, Little John’s leadership enabled a high proportion of Hell's Archers pilots to survive. In the wake of the battle, he was promoted to the grade of Lieutenant Colonel and was given official command of the squadron. Little John's request to "get the hell back into this goddamned war" was granted and he and his squadron were subsequently transferred to TCS Hermes, where he served out the final year of the war. He was deactivated in the general RIF at the end of the war but was later reactivated in 2670 to serve aboard TCS Princeton. This turned out to be at attempt to recruit him for "The Project", but Gerhardt disliked the Black Lance operatives that came aboard Princeton and when the latter attempted to take over the ship during the Black Lance Affair, he assisted in the UBW takeover of the ship. Princeton remained in possession of the nascent Union after the affair but Gerhardt elected to return to the Confederation, where he served out the remainder of his career. Little John is an intense squadron leader who flies and leads like his hair is on fire. He has a reputation of being extremely demanding of his men, requiring perfection down to the smallest, most minute details. He is known for having a ferocious temper on- and off-duty; the slightest thing can set him off. Needless to say, Little John has been in his fair share of bar brawls (all of which he instigated). However, his squadrons historically have had the highest kill/loss ratios in the Fleet, suffering very few casualties. He is currently married to his third wife; his previous two marriages wound up in shambles and ready room scuttlebutt about his current marriage conjures this to be the reason behind his generally less-than-sunny temperament. Category:Blog posts